Employees of Air India Airport Services Ltd’s ground services department at Mumbai airport are heaving a sigh of relief after the staff union sanitised the workplace on Wednesday.
The 700-odd employees of the Air India subsidiary company were worried about entering the premises as three colleagues have tested positive for COVID-19 and two others have succumbed to the virus so far.
The employees who tested positive were catering to cargo operations, transporting medicines to personal protective equipment within India and from China. Sixteen other Air India staffers have also tested positive.
On Wednesday, hours before Cyclone Nisarga halted airport operations, members of the Aviation Industry Employees Guild (AIEG) took it upon themselves to disinfect the premises. “Unusual times call for special steps. The management had sanitised the outside area. We disinfected the premises,” said AIEG general secretary George Abraham.
The union members procured sodium hypochlorite from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation and sprayed it after diluting it as per prescribed norms to disinfect staff locker rooms, the cafeteria and other areas on the premises.
Mr. Abraham said, “Anxiety and fear prevailed in the minds of employees as those who tested positive had been working on the premises to make sure flights operate. There was good co-operation and we ensured safe working conditions for our staff.”
The AIEG has written to the Air India chairman and managing director on sanitising equipment, material, passenger baggage, and workplaces, both on the aircraft and at the airport.
‘Provide compensation’
Mr. Abraham said, “We have also asked the management to provide cashless insurance coverage for employees testing positive, besides ₹50 lakh to the family as life insurance or compensation in the event of death due to COVID-19.”
He also recommended providing a special group insurance to the employees whose duties involve getting exposed to the virus.
AIEG has recommended to the management to use the tailoring section within the components overhaul division of Air India Engineering Services Ltd for manufacturing good quality face masks and PPE kits to meet in-house demand.